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Wednesday, 17 December 2014

In case you’re new to WUW, it’s a blog hop created by
my sister Jaime and me, intended to help writers keep in touch with one another. If you’d like to participate,
please sign up on the linky below, and be sure to spread some writerly
encouragement around to at least a few other people taking part. Also, please remember to link back to our
host blogs and/or use one of the WUW buttons. Thanks!

Just a reminder
that there will be no WUW on December 24th & 31st.
We’ll be taking a break for the holidays and can catch up in the New Year!

What I’m
Reading:

I have about fifty pages left in Winterspell, and unfortunately it hasn’t improved for me. Just to
clarify my comments from last week, the reason I’m not enjoying it isn’t because it’s dark. I like dark stories. My stories are dark. Without giving specifics from the book, my
problem is when sexual abuse is used as a means to up the heat level,
rather than being dealt with as the serious issue it is. That feels gratuitous
to me and potentially confusing to younger readers, especially when the mc's responses are unhealthy. There’s a
lot more I could say, but I’ll leave it at that. My reason for bringing this up
again is because I didn’t want anyone to assume I was just being a prude or that my
WIPs are full of sunbeams and frolicking puppies. Definitely not.

What I’m
Writing:

This was a weirdly good writing week for me, despite
how busy it was. Somehow I managed to get out 6800 words. It’s a Christmas
miracle! I met my goal, which was to finish the scene I was on, and I’m really
happy with the result. I also finished two more scenes and got caught up to
where I was before I went on a rearranging binge. And I wrote part of a new
scene. I’m pretty sure I’ll have to cut a bunch of what I’ve written lately,
but at least the story isn’t fighting me anymore.

My writing goal
for this week: I’m not going to set a goal since
it’s the last week before Christmas.

What Works For
Me:

Writing by the light of the Christmas tree. It
provides the perfect ambience for my nighttime work sessions. Makes me tempted
to leave it up year round. Kidding.

What Else is
New:

■Braving crowded stores to do Christmas shopping, which made me
all bah humbuggish.

■Braving crowded stores to do winter boot shopping…then ordering a
pair online at the mall. And the point of going there was…?

Wednesday, 10 December 2014

In case you’re new to WUW, it’s a blog hop created by
my sister Jaime and me, intended to help writers keep in touch with one another. If you’d like to participate,
please sign up on the linky below, and be sure to spread some writerly
encouragement around to at least a few other people taking part. Also, please remember to link back to our
host blogs and/or use one of the WUW buttons. Thanks!

A couple notes: Firstly, if you’d like to use some of
the festive new buttons Jaime whipped up for winter, you can find them under my
WUW tab.

And secondly, there will be no WUW on Dec 24th
& 31st. Since many of us will be busy on Christmas Eve and New
Year’s Eve, we figure it’s a good time for a break. We can all catch up in the
New Year!

What I’m
Reading:

I’m halfway through Winterspell, and I have to admit it’s not really what I expected.
It’s inspired by The Nutcracker, so I
assumed it would be somewhat Christmas-y—dark, yes, but still with the “magic
of the season.” Not so much. It’s not that I want it to be Dance of the Sugar
Plum Fairies for 300+ pages (heck no), but I'm finding the story kind of flat and, to be honest, even a bit off-putting at times (sexual predators = not very festive). We’ll see how the
rest goes.

What I’m
Writing:

The goal I set last week (finish the scene I was on,
outline and start writing the next one) went by the wayside, seeing as I completely
switched gears. I ended up hacking apart a whole section of scenes, scrambling
everything around, patching it back together, adding in a couple of new scenes,
and outlining one of those. Why, you
ask? Well, getting the plot to unfold logically is easier said than done. It’s
one thing to know all the details of what has to happen but to reveal everything
in the right order and get those twists right can be mind numbingly difficult. Anyway, despite not meeting my goal, it was still a reasonably productive week.

My writing goal
this week: Um, barring any more insane urges to
tear everything apart again, I’m aiming to finish the scene I’m on. It’s big
with lots of action, so it’ll be a challenge.

What Works For
Me:

As you can see above, what works for me is
periodically reassessing how my story is unfolding. Usually this happens when I
hit that dreaded plateau in the middle. There’s almost always a string of
scenes where the excitement dwindles and it drives me to start ripping things
apart. Even though I go into drafting with a hefty outline and enough notes to
wallpaper my entire house, I still find it necessary and refreshing to rethink
and rearrange. That’s an important part of the evolution of my WIPs and motivating
myself to get through that second half.

What Else I’ve
Been Up To:

Let’s see. I put up the Christmas tree, Skyped with my
sister and mom, had a fun appetizer and movie night with my son (we watched Stardust), indulged in some excellent holiday
craft brew with the hubby, and had a total meltdown when I realized I
accidentally tossed a whole stack of my good recipes in the recycling bin by
mistake—including many Christmas ones. A few weeks ago I was ripping new
recipes out of magazines and sorting through my old ones (which are terribly
disorganized and mostly shoved in folders) and somehow the favourite we-make-these-a-lot-and-can’t-live-without-them
pile ended up getting pitched. Basically I went into panic mode. Much time was
spent combing the internet, and fortunately I was able to find most of them (or
suitable replacements) again. Crisis averted. Seriously, how did people cope
before the internet?

Monday, 8 December 2014

I'm excited to host the Cover Reveal of Prophecy of the Six, Book Two of the Prophecy Breakers series by Sheena Boekweg, Melanie Crouse, and Sabrina West. The cover was designed by Darren Boekweg of Boekweg Books Publishing and Cover Design.

About Prophecy of the Six

We didn't know how much we had to gain by being infected with magic. We found a purpose, we found a destiny, and we found each other.

But California isn’t the new start we were promised. Dr. Child may be gone, but now we must face a military school, dangerous secrets, and a prophecy that has half the country wanting us dead. When the line between enemies and allies blurs, Sam, Juliette, Ana and I need to choose between love and sanity, between magic and survival.

Paradise has a cost. When the authorities are suddenly giving you whatever you want, they’re going to demand everything in return. And that’s a price not all of us are strong enough to pay.Freedom feels like safety, but it’s not. There are no walls here. No place they won’t be coming for us.

No place we won’t destroy.

About Alchemy

Book 1 in the Prophecy Breakers series

We didn’t know how much we had to lose until we were infected with magic. Sam was in love, Juliette was the main caretaker for her siblings, and Ana and her dad planned the best parties in New York. But we lost it all when we were shipped to Chebeague, an exclusive school for newly infected mages.

Everyone knows about the mages, those who survive the infection and end up with magical abilities. We’ve seen the power of magic, the high-paying jobs, and the world fame. But we never saw the cost. We didn’t know we’d be forced to give up everything: sanity, family, even the right to talk on the phone.

We didn’t know mage was just another word for prisoner.

In 2014, Alchemy was named on of the top 50 self-published books worth reading. On December 8, 9, and 10th you can buy it for free here. For a limited time, Funny Tragic, Crazy Magic and Hidden Magic are also available for free.

About the Authors

Sheena Boekweg, Melanie Crouse, and Sabrina West met online, (which isn't as weird as it used to be) and blog together at theprosers.blogspot.com. Their first collaborative project, Alchemy (Prophecy Breakers #1), was voted one of thetop fifty self published novels worth reading by Indie Authorland.

Sheena Boekweg is the author of Funny Tragic Crazy Magic, and The Waxling (forthcoming). She is a mom of three from Utah and is prepared to survive a zombie apocalypse.

As a mom of four, Melanie Crouse thinks that parenthood is exactly like a zombie apocalypse. Melanie Crouse is the author of excuse notes, thank you cards, and the novel Hidden Magic.

Sabrina West is a writer and wildlife biologist living in San Diego, California. Her short fiction has appeared in markets such as Cover of Darkness; Strange, Weird and Wonderful Magazine; and Kayelle Press’s Night Terrors Anthology.

Wednesday, 3 December 2014

In case you’re new to WUW, it’s a blog hop created by
my sister Jaime and me, intended to help writers keep in touch with one another. If you’d like to participate,
please sign up on the linky below, and be sure to spread some writerly
encouragement around to at least a few other people taking part. Also, please remember to link back to our
host blogs and/or use one of the WUW buttons. Thanks!

If you’d like to use some of the festive new buttons
Jaime whipped up for winter, you can find them under my WUW tab. Also, if you missed the last WUW, please note that we're now including a writing goal for the week under the "What I'm Writing" heading in hopes of keeping each other accountable.

Your goal doesn’t have to focus on word count. It can be whatever you like, as long as it’s relevant to the writing process. Please try to keep your goals reasonably brief. Thanks and good luck!

What I’m
Reading:

For the time being, I’ve put aside City of Heavenly Fire in favour of Winterspell by Claire Legrand. Since it’s
inspired by The Nutcracker, I’ve been
saving it for the holiday season. Jaime’s going to read it too, and then we
plan to have a special Christmas themed Skype session to discuss it.

What I’m
Writing:

My goal last week was to finish the scene I’d been
working on and get back into the flow of my story. Well, I capped off said
scene, which ended up being way longer than I thought it would be, and I wrote
another one and a half small scenes on top of that. While my word count was
5700, I’m still not sure I’m totally back into the swing of things. Much of
that is likely destined for the chopping block, especially since one scene was
an experimental afterthought. We shall see. Things are too busy for guaranteeing
any kind of writing mojo these days.

My writing goal
this week: I want to finish the scene I’m on now,
do a more detailed outline of the next scene (which is a biggie), and start
writing it.

What Works For
Me:

Getting back into writing this week was helped
drastically by some fresh music to inspire me. For whatever reason, my
usual playlist wasn’t doing the trick, so I decided to give Audiomachine’s
album, Phenomena, a try. If you aren’t
familiar with Audiomachine, they’re a company that composes epic music for movie trailers, video game ad campaigns, and TV
commercials. Trust me, if you write sci-fi or fantasy, you've got to check them out. You can even listen to their music for
free on their website.

What Else I’ve
Been Up To:

I’ve been indulging in birthday parcel number two from
Jaime, which was full of all kinds of tasty and awesome goodies. My birthday was on Saturday, and seeing as the
weather was around -30 degrees Celsius (-40 something with the wind chill), I
was tempted to stay in and hibernate in my pj’s, but we braved the cold and
went out for dinner, then saw Mockingjay—Part1.
I thought they did a good job of adapting the book to the big screen, but after
seeing it, I still think they could have done it in one movie rather than two. Regardless,
it was a great way to spend the evening, and I enjoyed it.